Spring has come early this year, with plant growth well ahead of normal, and winter having scarcely arrived at all, according to Met Éireann, writes Tim O'Brien.
As farmers and suburban gardeners pondered the early arrival of snowdrops and daffodil buds, Met Éireann said December was a drier, warmer and sunnier month than normal almost everywhere.
So far 2004 has got off to a wet but relatively warm start. Soil and air temperatures were at least a degree above average everywhere except the north-eastern coastal fringes, which were a little cooler than normal.
Sustained cold and freezing conditions - the hallmark of winter - have not as yet been experienced and Met Éireann said growth is well ahead of normal in the midlands and north, and slightly ahead of normal in Munster and the south-east.
The absence of winter comes with a health warning, as gardeners caution that the unusual weather conditions could spell disaster.
While householders in particular might enjoy warm conditions in the garden at this time of year, so do a range of pests such as slugs, greenfly, vine weevil and larvae.
Gardeners rely on a sharp freeze to kill off slugs and larvae, which cannot stand sub-zero temperatures. They remain active at low temperatures and the survival of a large percentage of them into the growing season is deemed bad news.
"Winter has not arrived and a lot of things have not died," observed The Irish Times' gardening writer, Jane Powers, who warned of damage to herbaceous borders and perennials if the weather got colder.
Winter making a sudden comeback in mid-March would be particularly damaging, since that is when delicate flowers such as camellias and magnolias are vulnerable to a sudden frost. Even mature trees whose sap has risen have been known to snap during a severe cold spell.
Indeed gusts of 60 to 70 m.p.h., heavy showers and a sharp frost are expected this weekend, with a cold snap continuing into next week.
Forecasters from Met Éireann were reluctant to pin the unusual weather on global warming-induced climate change, remarking that trends are usually observed over periods of about 30 years. "A good summer would cheer us all up, though," forecaster Deirdre Lowe said.